ELYRIA — One out into the fourth inning, Elyria Catholic’s softball team was hitless on Thursday afternoon and trailing Trinity, 1-0.
Jasmine Filiaggi solved that problem. She put down a nearly perfect bunt for an infield single, stole second base, then scored when catcher Katie Svat unloaded a double to the fence in left field for a 1-all tie.
The Panthers, building on that success, got some timely hitting in the fifth inning that paved the way to a 3-2 North Coast League victory and their 11th win in 15 games.
EC improved to 3-3 in the NCL. Trinity fell to
4-11, 2-7 in the NCL.
It was an important win for EC, which dropped a league decision to Lake Catholic on Wednesday. That was a game EC followers thought the Panthers might have won.
There was one out in the EC fifth when Molly O’Malley legged out a single to the hole between short and third. O’Malley stole second, then scored the go-ahead run when Natalie Kaczmarczyk followed with a single up the middle.
“I haven’t really been hitting all that well, I’ve been in kind of a slump lately,” Kaczmarczyk said. “I’ve been concentrating and focusing on watching the ball, and I changed my stance a little bit. I picked one up and drove it up the middle.”
She took second on the play. Sam Spencer sent Kaczmarczyk to third with a single to left, and Kaczmarczyk scored the eventual game-winner when Lexi Kaczay grounded to the right side.
“I was just hoping to hit it and I was pretty upset when I hit it right to the girl,” Kaczay said. “But it made me feel better when I realized it was an RBI and the game-winning run.”
Filiaggi said she was unaware that Trinity pitcher Shannon Fort was working on a no-hitter when she went to the plate with one out in the Panthers fourth. After a steal, she was on second when Svat launched her game-tying double.
“I thought (the outfielder) was going to catch it, so I just stood on second,” Filiaggi said. “But when the ball fell in, I just knew I had to go.”
Panthers pitcher Jackie Tirbaso notched her seventh victory in 10 decisions. She seemed to get stronger after EC fell behind 1-0 and the game wore on.
“Once I get warmed up going into a game, I seem to get better,” Tirbaso said. “My drop and my curve were both working really well today.”
EC assistant coach Dan Arroyo said he was pleased with the way his Panthers bounced back from a Wednesday loss to Lake Catholic. He was filling in for head coach Brian Daw, who was out of town on business.
“These girls can hit all the way through the lineup,” Arroyo said. “It’s a good lineup, we have a lot of young girls and they’ve been playing a lot. This was a big win for us. This is what they need.”

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